Albion cashed in at Oakwell with a late away winner which edged them close to promotion.

John Templeman scored the only goal of the third-tier contest as the awayday specialists kept the heat on leaders and eventual champions Aston Villa.

The win, back in April, 1972, was Albion’s tenth on the road in the league campaign. As such, it secured each squad member a £100 bonus as agreed at the start of the season.

At the time, they had more wins on the road than any other team in the third division. They were also making a habit of winning matches late on and this was no exception.

Templeman fired home from outside the box in the 86th minute after Albion had spent much of the match defending. The win took them into second place ahead of Bournemouth, the side they eventually pipped to promotion.

Albion boss Pat Saward said: “I thought it was going to be a draw but I was pleased to see that ball go in. The team battled out there and we are in with a great chance now.”

Albion have only won once at Oakwell since that Tuesday night 45 years ago. That was in the early days of the 1991-92 season, when they were ultimately relegated.

Argus scribe John Vinicombe enjoyed his evening at Oakwell as he dictated his report down the phone line to a copytaker back in Brighton.

Vinners said: “For sheer excitement, the match took some beating. The new partnership of (Norman) Gall and (Ian) Goodwin proved equal to anything Barnsley could dish out and Templeman’s fondness for breaks gave him his sixth goal of the season – and never was one more timely.”

Goodwin, a 14-stone defender, was outstanding and was picked out for special praise by his boss.

Templeman recalls the goal – and can explain why Bertie Lutton was credited as the scorer by some.

Looking back at the following day’s Evening Argus, Vinners got it right. But the programme for the next home match had Lutton down as the marksman and, on the strength of that, used his photo as their centre spread.

Templeman said: “The match was played on a very hard and bumpy surface, which made it difficult to play a lot of football.

“I remember Brian Powney kicking the ball out of his hands and I made a run off of our front man who jumped with their centre-half.

“The ball ran loose to me and I hit it first time from outside of the right-hand side of the penalty area.

“It went just inside the far post giving the goalkeeper very little chance of saving it. It wasn’t an enjoyable game to play in but it was an important win on our way to promotion.”

The shot was struck on the far side of the pitch from the old main stand which Albion fans will see still standing today, albeit with plastic seats bolted on to the lower-level terracing.

Templeman said: “We both had the same long fair hair and Bertie was playing wide on the right. I scored from an inside-right position which wasn’t far from Bertie.”

But it was Templeman’s goal – and an Oakwell success Albion would love to repeat in similar circumstances today.

Albion: Powney, Murray, Spearritt, Templeman, Gall, Goodwin, Lutton, K.Napier, Beamish, Bromley, O’Sullivan. Sub not used: Turner.